A man accused of swinging a tomahawk in a busy pedestrian mall allegedly told police, who located the small axe in his bag, he had found the weapon "in some bushes".
Michael John Mundy, 33, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with possessing an offensive weapon after he was allegedly seen brandishing a tomahawk in public in early August.
Mundy has not entered a plea to the charge.
Court documents state Mundy was seen by members of the public allegedly swinging a tomahawk in his hand near the Off Ya Tree clothing store in Garema Place, in Civic, around 7pm.
A number of people reported this to ACT Policing, describing the man as wearing dark clothing, carrying a red cloth bag over his shoulder and wearing red socks.
Mundy was eventually stopped and spoken to by police on Mort Street, outside the Telstra building, who allegedly observed Mundy matching the description from the complaints.
When asked if he had the weapon in his possession, Mundy allegedly said there was a tomahawk in his red bag, which was in a shopping trolley next to him.
Mundy then allegedly told police he had "found it in some bushes outside the Catholic Care facility on Scott's Crossing" also in Civic.
Police seized the tomahawk and arrested the 33-year-old.
The tomahawk was described as "approximately 45 centimetres in overall length with a yellow plastic handle and a metal head in the classic axe shape".
On Thursday, Mundy appeared in court after failing to report to police last week in accordance with his bail conditions.
He was seen outside City Police Station but ran away and jumped a fence before he was arrested on Wednesday.
A Legal Aid lawyer told the court Mundy had "merely lost track of the time" when he failed to report to police, despite being required to do so twice a week.
A prosecutor applied to revoke Mundy's bail, arguing there was a strong likelihood he would not appear in court in the future.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker referred the matter to the Galambany Bail Court, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander defendants, where Mundy will appear on Friday to hear if he will remain in custody.
